Comets look to bounce back at home on Red Out Night

by Nathan Dunn

Kansas City Comets vs. San Diego Sockers

MASL Regular Season — Game 17

When: Sat, Feb. 14 – 6pm CT

Where: Cable Dahmer Arena

Tickets: Ticketmaster | Tickets For Less

The Kansas City Comets will host the San Diego Sockers for a Red-Out game for Play with Heart Night at Cable Dahmer Arena on Saturday evening for a heavyweight battle with playoff implications.

Both sides sit inside the top three in the MASL standings entering their first meeting this season, but the Comets are looking to get back into the win column after dropping to defeat on the road against the Milwaukee Wave on Tuesday.

The Comets got off to a sluggish start in Tuesday’s defeat, facing an early 3-0 deficit before getting on the board late in the first quarter. The Wave scored four more in the second quarter, and while the Comets managed to get back within four, they never truly posed a threat to completing a comeback bid in Milwaukee.

Returning to home turf, where two of the Comets’ three most recent victories came, gives the team some confidence with a challenging task ahead. They look to improve their 4-2-1 record on Silverstein Eye Centers Field.

The Comets have been led by the forward tandem of Rian Marques (20 goals, 13 assists) and Zach Reget (19 goals, 11 assists), who have combined for 63 points. Marques is having a career year as he leads the league with 2.5 points per game.

The Comets have also welcomed double-digit point production from Dominic Francis (13 goals, 4 assists), Lesia Thetsane (10 goals, 5 assists), Christian Anderaos (8 goals, 7 assists), Nacho Flores (6 goals, 9 assists) and Michael Lenis (8 goals, 5 assists).

The defensive side has brought some headaches for the Comets, posting a record of 0-4 when conceding 8 or more goals. Still, Philip Ejimadu (8 wins) and Chad Vandegriffe (38 blocks) have been league leaders throughout the season with Thetsane, Flores and former Socker defender Guerrero Pino providing additional experience.

The Comets will be without Acosta while Anderaos is questionable. They have nine players listed as probable: Marques, Reget, Lenis, Ejimadu, Julio Coronado, Ramone Palmer, Marcel Berry, Lucas Sousa and Ali Alomari.

Saturday’s meeting is the first of five throughout the rest of the season. The Comets will see the Sockers four times in their final five games to conclude the regular season next month.

San Diego Sockers

San Diego enters Saturday’s matchup in good form, sitting third in the standings and riding a three-game winning streak.

The Sockers have a daunting lineup that has produced 6.2 goals per game and a 5.2 goals-against average. San Diego has been susceptible on the road, posting a 4-3 record, though they did double up Baltimore 10-5 in the Sockers’ most recent road trip to SECU Arena on Jan. 24.

San Diego’s defense is led in the back by longtime goalkeeper and former Comet, Boris Pardo. The three-time MASL Goalkeeper of the Year has posted a 7-4 record with 138 saves in 13 games, sitting second in the league by stopping 72% of shots with the league’s only shutout this season.

Offensively, the Sockers have been bolstered with the offseason addition of two-time MASL MVP Nick Perera from the Tacoma Stars. The 6-foot-3 target has made an immediate impact in his return to the Sockers, leading the team with 19 points (7 goals, 12 assists) and becoming the third player in MASL history to reach 500 points.

The Sockers also have a talented cast elsewhere with Charlie Gonzalez and Leonardo De Oliveira producing offense out of the midfield and Mitchell Cardenas, Drew Ruggles and Cesar Cerda providing defensive stability. Outside of Perera, the Sockers look to Tavoy Morgan and Kraig Chiles, who has tallied more than 700 career points on San Diego’s forward line.

Saturday provides the Sockers with an opportunity to leapfrog the Comets with a win in regulation.

The Sockers will be without Gabriel Costa while goalkeeper Chris Toth is doubtful. The quartet of Luiz Morales, Ben Ramin, Jose Gonzales and Kraig Chiles are listed as probable for Saturday’s contest.

In collaboration with the American Heart Association, the Comets will honor survivors of heart disease and promote heart health education throughout the night. Tickets for the contest are available at kccomets.com/tickets.